Plastic Surgery Empowers Cancer Patient

For Nancy, Surgery was Less About Looks and More About Life

Physical appearance isn't the most important thing about a human being, but it's the
first thing most people notice. Feeling good about the way we look gives us the self-esteem
we need to succeed at work, form healthy relationships and participate fully in life.

Whether your concerns are strictly cosmetic or you've suffered an appearance-altering
trauma, the plastic surgery team at SLUCare Physician Group can help you face the world with confidence. "We're an
internationally recognized group of surgeons, researchers and educators who are committed
to providing the best care and results for our patients," says SLUCare surgeon Dr. Michael Bernstein, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Saint Louis University
School of Medicine.

SLUCare plastic surgeons excel at a broad range of specialties. "When most people
hear the phrase ‘plastic surgery,' the first thing they think of is face-lifts, breast
augmentations and tummy tucks," Bernstein says. "Of course, we do all those things,
as well as Botox, fillers, body sculpting, liposuction and other cosmetic treatments."
But cosmetic procedures are relatively simple, he notes. "The function of the face
is to look like a face, and it's easier to help a normal face look better than to
reconstruct a face that's been destroyed."

We're experts in transplanting healthy tissue from one part of the body to another,
we specialize in hand surgery and have successfully regrown severed fingers.”

In addition to cosmetic work, the SLUCare team provides reconstructive surgery for
people who have suffered appearance- and function-altering traumas, specialists who
can help children born with cleft lip or palate, and wound care for patients with
life-threatening pressure ulcers. "We're experts in transplanting healthy tissue from
one part of the body to another," Bernstein says. "We specialize in hand surgery and
have successfully regrown severed fingers. We work closely with all the surgical specialties,
reconstructing chest walls, skulls and noses that have been damaged by cancer, injuries
or surgery."

But the aesthetic and functional aspects of plastic surgery aren't isolated from each
other. "Some of the greatest developments and techniques on the cosmetic side came
from surgeons who dealt with terrible combat injuries and wounds during World War
II and Vietnam," says Bernstein, who also serves as chief of plastic and reconstructive
surgery at St. Louis Veterans Administration Medical Center. "Everything we accomplish
on the reconstructive side feeds into the cosmetic side, and vice versa. Everything
we learn makes us better at restoring form and function, and the patient benefits.
That's what's so rewarding and amazing about what we do."

I was terrified I'd never again look normal or breathe comfortably, but Dr. Bernstein
explained every detail clearly and patiently, and restored my nose beautifully.”

Patients are amazed, too. Nancy Hier, 69, lost most of her nose to skin cancer. "The
tip and nasal lining were gone, and there was a big hole on one side," she recalls.
During three surgeries, Bernstein skillfully rebuilt her nose using skin from her
forehead and cartilage from her ear. "I was terrified I'd never again look normal
or breathe comfortably," she says. "But Dr. Bernstein explained every detail clearly
and patiently, and restored my nose beautifully. I was disfigured by cancer — but
you'd never know it to look at me now."